I hear a lot of hoopla about the 50th anniversary of NATO and can't suppress snickers of well deserved derision. The fact is that NATO has served only one purpose: it has been used to justify trillions of dollars of totally useless military spending both here and abroad - including that of our "enemies" [I use that term loosely as there have been no declarations of hostilities during the last 50 years]. It has delayed the establishment of democracy in Eastern Europe and elsewhere by decades by promoting military confrontation which is dependent on authoritarianism - since it NEVER serves the interests of those governed. I have no doubt that the world would be a far better place without NATO and the confrontationism that inspires such misbegotten military alliances.
Current NATO involvement in Yugoslavia serves only one purpose: it - like Desert Storm - showcases US military weaponry, and opens markets for sales of more arms to governments predisposed to less democracy and more concentration of economic and political power. When Milosevic is no more and Yugoslavia joins NATO, Serbs can proudly say that many in their families died "field testing" the very weaponry that will "protect" Europe in their day. Not very noble in my view!
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